Gavina - Marcel Breuer - Chair - Cesca chair - Steel, Vienna straw pasta., Hardwood - Cesca Chair Marcel Breuer

Sedia Cesca designed by Marcel Breuer and produced by Dino Gavina (Bologna, Italy).

The chair is characterized by the famous tubular chrome metal frame and the seat and backrest in Vienna straw, elements that have made this model a true icon of modern design.

This specimen is in good condition, with a beautiful patina consistent with its history and period. The original seat is preserved (Vienna straw) and contributes to the authenticity and collectible value of the piece; the chair has never been restored and is completely original. My family has had this chair since the 1960s, bought in Bologna directly from Gavina. IT IS NOT A REPRODUCTION!

An important example of Marcel Breuer’s design, particularly interesting for collectors and enthusiasts of Italian and international historical design, an authentic piece representative of Marcel Breuer’s design research, ideal both for a design collection and for furnishing a contemporary space with an authentic icon of Modernism.

Unfortunately, over the years this chair lost the Gavina sticker with the inscription "made in Italy Kiga s.p.a." The chair is completely authentic and original; experts know how to recognize it. I have included in the last photo the label showing how it was, taken from another chair in my possession.

For less experienced buyers, an original Gavina-produced Cesca chair (1950s–1960s), before the official transition to Knoll in 1968, requires attention to certain construction details and era-specific branding:
1. Original Labels and Stickers
• Paper or adhesive label: Gavina chairs often had a sticker under the wooden seat. This could bear the logo "Gavina" in lowercase with the company’s characteristic font, or the inscription "Gavina S.p.A. - San Lazzaro di Savena (Bologna)."
• Absence of the Knoll logo: If the chair is labeled "Knoll International" or bears Marcel Breuer’s signature impressed on the metal, it is a production after 1968.

2. Characteristics of the Metallic Tubing
• Thickness and weight: The Gavina-used steel tubing is heavy and robust. Modern affordable reproductions use much lighter and thinner metals.
• Bending: The cantilever steel bending in Gavina versions is fluid and free of kinks or flattening at the curve points, a sign of very high industrial workmanship.
• End caps: At the ends of the iron tube (top of the backrest or base of the foot), the end caps of the period were often welded and smoothed metal, or in high-quality black plastic flush with the tube, not protruding or cheap.

3. The Seat and Back in Wood
• Solid wood: The frame that encloses the Vienna straw is strictly solid beech wood, usually lacquered black or left in natural straw finish. The edges are perfectly joined and hand-sanded.
• Attachment to the frame: Under the Gavina and Thonet-era seat, the holes for the screws that fix the wood to the metal tubing follow a precise pattern, and the channels in the wood are cleanly carved.

4. Vienna Straw
• Weave: The original Vienna straw from the Gavina era is natural, not plastic. Over decades it tends to take on an amber or honey/brown hue due to oxidation and light exposure.
• Attachment of the straw: When you rotate the chair, you’ll notice the straw sheet is inserted into a groove in the wood and secured with a reed thread (a flexible wooden cord). In low-quality replicas, the straw is often simply stapled to the underside.

A true piece of history that is hard to find in this condition, never restored, still with its original natural wicker.